Historical Events
1925 – Last allied occupying troops leave German Ruhr region
1972 – Claudy bombing: Nine civilians are killed when three car bombs explode in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland; no group has since claimed responsibility
1983 – Dutch July average temperature is 20.1°C (68.18°F), making it the warmest July since 1854
1997 – First baseman Mark McGwire becomes MLB’s top home run hitter to be traded in the middle of a season when he moves from Oakland to the St. Louis Cardinals with 34 home runs and 81 RBIs
2011 – British Open Women’s Golf, Carnoustie GL: Yani Tseng of Taiwan becomes the first to successfully defend the Open as a major championship, four strokes ahead of Brittany Lang
Famous Birthdays
1941 – Heather McKay, Australian squash player (British Open 1962-77, inaugural women’s World Open 1976), born in Queanbeyan, Australia
1941 – Amarsinh Chaudhary, Indian politician, born in Surat, India (d. 2004)
1965 – Scott Brooks, American basketball guard, coach (NBA Coach of the Year 2010, OKC Thunder; Washington Wizards 2016-19), born in French Camp, California
1980 – Harry Potter, fictional character portrayed by Daniel Radcliffe, born in Godric’s Hollow, England
1988 – A. J. Green [Adriel Jeremiah Green], American NFL player (Cincinnati Bengals), born in Summerville, South Carolina
Famous Deaths
1985 – Eugene Carson Blake, US Secretary-General of World Council of Churches (1966-72), dies at 78
2002 – Gerrit A. Kooy, Dutch sociologist (Apartheid and work in South Africa), dies at 76
2004 – Laura Betti, Italian actress (b. 1927)
2009 – Harry Alan Towers, English film producer and screenwriter (b. 1920)
2018 – Tony Bullimore, British yachtsman (1997 solo around-the-world yacht race, dramatic rescue), dies of cancer at 79